There’s Nothing Sleepy About This Beauty
Grade: A
A charming and exquisite piece of puppet theatre, La bella dormente nel bosco is sure to please everyone in your Spoleto party
By Jennifer Corley
“Magical” is probably the word you’ll most hear when audiences describe legendary puppet man Basil Twist’s newest work, La bella dormente nel bosco (”Sleeping beauty in the forest”). And magical is indeed an apt word. With the production’s swirling fairies, singing cats, galloping spindles, leaping frogs, and dancing roses, there’s not really a more appropriate word that exists.
The story, in a nutshell, is this: the King and Queen procure fairies of good fortune to become their new baby daughter’s godmothers. A jilted fairy, at the princess’ baptism, lays an evil curse that on the princess’ 20th birthday, she will prick her finger on a spindle and fall into a deep death-like sleep. Once that happens, a good fairy lays a new spell that says the coma will be broken when true love awakens her. Surely you know what comes after that.
The seven opera singers, clad in robes, take the stage whenever the character they’re voicing is onstage. But they remain in the sidelines. They act almost as translators or interpreters for the puppets — as if they are merely the vocal conduit for what the object is expressing. They watch the puppets’ movements and sing in explanation as they look out to the audience.
All of the opera singers except one take on multiple roles. Talented soprano Nicole Heaston sings only the part of Sleeping Beauty. She’s a bit stiffer than the others when it comes to her stage presence, but her voice is clean, powerful, and moving.
As the voice of the King, baritone Daniel Sutin has the most expression of any of the seven. He also changes his voice for his other characterizations the most. He sings for three other characters and has a richness that seems to fill his entire body.
Tenor Eduardo Valdes has an ebullient personality that spills out in his singing, which he makes appear so carefree. He gives voice to a Jester and to Sleeping Beauty’s Prince. As the Prince, his voice floats off his tongue and rolls over the audience’s heads so soothingly and naturally, that if it were food it would be liquid chocolate.
Mezzo-soprano Kathryn Day has a commanding menace in her recitative as the villainous Green Fairy. (As Day’s stern face looks on, the Green Fairy swoops over the heads of the kingdom’s well-wishers as they tremble violently in fear.) There are a couple of moments during her performance as the Old Woman when she is difficult to hear in the lower register, but aside from those moments, she’s extremely robust.
Olga Makarina, as the Blue Fairy, the leader of the pack, is excellent. She also opens as a nightingale that sets the tone of the piece. Her coloratura is bright, sparkling, and clear, and a perfect fit for this production. She seems to have a certain radiance of goodness, through her voice and her expressive eyes.
Michaela Martens, mezzo-soprano, displays a lovely, heavy sadness in her voice as the Queen as she fears her child lost forever to the curse. She has a majestic stance, befitting of a queen, that causes her voice to project beautifully. She and Sutin have a lovely, strong duet as the King and Queen lament their daughter’s fate.
It would’ve been nice to see mezzo-soprano Patricia Risley more. She’s delightful in her voicing of the Old Woman’s raggedy cat. She gives it a lot of character without detracting from the puppet itself. She also voices a songbird, Cuckoo, with soft, pleasant precision.
The singers all have a purity of tone, with the strength and density of a light beam, that almost seems to project directly out of their chests instead of their mouths.
The principal singers are accompanied by singers from the Westminster choir, who flank the stage in the balconies and later perform onstage. They perform excellently, aside from perhaps being a little too laid back in their manner at the show’s beginning (a few of the ladies were smoothing their hair, or looking down at the floor, or talking, and appearing generally unprepared to be standing and facing the audience). Their voices are hearty when necessary and breezy in other scenes.
The set, designed by Matthew Benedict and Twist himself, is dazzling. The castle can be seen in the distance, silhouetted against a twinkling night sky through layers of trees and overhanging branches. The forest seems to breathe as it expands and contracts. Andrew Hill’s ambient lighting design and Mr. David’s sumptuous costume design enrich the piece and help shape the magical environment. And the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra, conducted by Neal Goren, present a gorgeous performance of Respighi’s opera.
Of course, the real stars of the production are the puppets and the artists who manipulate them. A crew of 12 puppeteers work the gloriously expressive puppets — some of them life-size — by string, by stick, and by hand. All of their work is visible to the audience. These puppets do amazing things. One appears to blow a trumpet. Another does a handstand. The fairy puppets are exquisitely human in their peaceful faces, muscular legs, and twig-like, bending arms. The puppeteers are expert in their handling skills.
Basil Twist has created an enchanting, uplifting, and magical realm in which it’s easy to lose oneself. You can see that every person involved onstage is absolutely dedicated to, and happy to be in, the project. It’s one of those rarities in theatre — a good-spirited, charming, whimsical production without an ounce of corniness. So if you can still get a ticket, go get one. — JC